Musicians Respond to the Fatal Police Shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile

Yesterday, video emerged from two fatal police shootings of black men, igniting protests and outrage throughout the country. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana police shot 37-year-old Alton Sterling point blank outside a convenience store where he sold CDs (it has yet to be confirmed whether Sterling had a handgun in his pocket at the time). In Falcon Heights, Minnesota, police shot unarmed 32-year-old Philando Castile at a traffic stop. "Please, officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him," said Lavish Reynolds, who recorded the aftermath of the shooting from the car's passenger seat. "You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license, his registration, sir."

Some of our keenest and most public minds on race, musicians are responding to the police shootings with sympathy and anger. "Although I am a black young woman I AM #AltonSterling," wrote Janelle Monáe. "Just like Alton I used to sell my CDs outside records, library steps, street corners, etc."

Trey Songz posted a video of a white man resisting arrest by two white officers, noting the difference in police treatment between white and black Americans. "My tears are fresh for #AltonSterling," wrote Vic Mensa. "They burn for those bullets the police ended his life with. But this is not over. We will fight. NOW."